If you were to ask one question about how to succesfully plan, advertise and promote your raffle, what would that question be? Now’s your chance to ask your most burning question about raffle fundraisers… and hear the answer LIVE Wednesday, October 4th, 2006.

FREE Raffle Fundraiser Teleseminar
With Sandra Sims and Chris Brisson
Date: Wednesday, October 4th, 2006.
Time: 5:00pm PST, 7:00pm CST, 8:00pm EST

If you aren’t able to dial in on Wednesday, you’ll also get a chance to listen to the call afterwards. We’ll send you all the details by email, so please register today:

Enter My Question and Register

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City governments, civic leagues and public schools have a great opportunity to be awarded a grant to fund community improvement projects.

Every month through May 2007, Hamburger Helper will choose one 501(c)(4) organization for a monetary grant of up to $15,000. All the group has to do is to register online with www.myhometownhelper.com and complete an essay of two hundred and fifty words or less describing how they the need help.

Who is Eligible?

City governments, fire departments, city park & recreation departments or other organizations with 501(c) (4) status. Public schools are also eligible.

When evaluating requests, MYHOMETOWNHELPER.COM review committee will favor organizations meeting the following criteria:

1. Demonstrate a need in a community
2. Illustrate a helpful, creative or innovative concept that meets this need
3. Clearly identify change/s that can be made as a result of receiving the Award

How to Apply

All the group has to do is to register online and complete an essay of two hundred and fifty words or less describing how they the need help.

Click here for Application Information

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As the mechanics of on-line auctions are refined and streamlined, they have become increasingly attractive options for non-profits.

Putting an auction on-line can extend its life, remove the uncertainty of a live event and vastly expand the audience of potential buyers. Moreover, there are groups such as cMarket and Missionfish who will offer not only a platform for such an auction, but hand-holding and advice.

Still, as with everything else, an online auction doesn’t just happen. And whether it’s put on by do-it-yourself software or through an outside entity, there are still things you can do (or not do) to make it run more smoothly.

These suggestions come from Missionfish co-founder Clam Lorenz and Dave Mello of cMarket.

DO ….

1. Give yourself enough time — time to find enough volunteers, line up enough sale items and set up a plan for publicity.

2. Hold a test auction. Sell a few items through the online platform of your choice to make sure you know what to expect when it’s time for the real show.

3. Find the right volunteers. List the job functions required for your auction, then enlist help from people with skills that match your requirements.

4. Seek specific donations. Tell people what donations you are looking for and the approximate value range desired. Don’t leave it to anyone’s imagination.

5. Solicit sponsorships. The revenue gained from sponsorships is exempt from any fees and can help offset expenses for your auction. Remember that you can give back to your sponsors by putting their name and logo in front of desirable supporters, on your home pages and in your e-mails.

6. Bundle creatively. Add to the perceived value of an assembly of donated items through a common theme. For instance, you could combine some disposable cameras, a few folding chairs and beach towels, and suddenly you have a “Day at the Beach” package.

7. Name creatively. Make sure your item names are descriptive, but also intriguing and interesting.

8. Keep your values reasonable. Inflating values will not result in higher bids or revenue if they are unreasonable. The same goes for opening bids — it is generally best to start the bidding at between one-quarter and one-third of the actual item value.

9. Use reserve prices on key items, especially a) when the item’s donor stipulates that it cannot be sold for less than a certain amount; b) when you have purchased an item for the auction and want to make sure you don’t lose money on it or c) you have a subsequent event or auction where you can sell the item later if it doesn’t go for the reserve price.

10. Stagger the addition of new items, rather than putting everything out at once. That encourages return visits to the site, and also allows you to stagger opening and closing dates.

11. Push the final hours of the auction by sending out “last chance” notices.

12. Follow the rules of the marketplace. For example, eBay has very strict rules about shill bidding (when someone close to you bids on an item you’re selling). Failure to abide by these rules can result in real headaches.

DON’T …

1. Put all your items in one basket. If you have a live event, make some items available for bidding online only, and others available for bidding in the room only.

2. Rely on just one method of promotion. Use e-mail lists, snail mailings, your Website, organizational contacts, word of mouth and the local media.

3. List a catalog item without an image. If need be, request one from the honor, or from a manufacturer’s Website.

4. Forget about shipping costs

5. Wait too long to get a payment processing method set up.

6. Try to do everything yourself. Recruit volunteers, friends and family members to help with the item solicitation, sponsor solicitation and auction management. Otherwise, it’s stress waiting to happen.

7. Ship the goods before you get paid. You’d be surprised at how often new eBay sellers will ship out their merchandise before receiving payment form the buyer. People are usually honest, and the majority of buyers will do the right thing. However, when you’re selling expensive items, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

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Raffles are great as add-on fundraisers or can be a stand alone fundraiser. They are usually very low cost, depending on if all prizes are donated or not. So your group can raise more with less up front cost.

There are a lot of details to consider when planning a raffle. From ticket prices, to printing, to legal considerations. What questions come to mind when you think about planning a raffle? Has your group had any particular challenges when it comes to setting up a raffle?

Enter My Raffle Question

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On August 6, 2006 Homes for Our Troops held its third annual Charity Motorcycle Ride. This was a very successful event to benefit this organization which helps injured veterans nationwide.

“The event was held in conjunction with a barbeque restaurant called Texas Roadhouse. Our first year of this event they literally took us under their wing. They printed up posters, advertised it at their restaurants and even got a local Harley Davidson dealership involved in the event,” said Dawn Teixeira.

Teixeira is a staff person at Homes for Our Troops who has been with the organization since their very beginning. “The Harley Davidson dealership advertised the ride and they also let us purchase a Harley Davidson motorcycle at a very low cost to raffle off. They then helped us by selling the raffle tickets at the dealership.”

Homes for Our Troops is a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 2004. Their mission is helping those who have selflessly given to their country and have returned home with serious disabilities and injuries.

They assist injured service men and women and their immediate families by raising donations of money, building materials and professional labor and coordinating the process of building a new home or adapting an existing home for handicapped accessibility.

All services provided by Homes for Our Troops are at no cost to the veterans they serve.

The event was popular, with 350 registrations for motorcycle riders at $30 a ticket. There was a $20 additional charge if they brought a passenger. This raised $17,000 just on ride registrations.

The raffle for a Harley Davidson has been very popular each year, and costs $100 a ticket. About 300 tickets were sold, and the winner was a veteran of the Iraq war.

Teixeira believes that it is contact with the vets themselves that makes this event so successful. “This year one vet drove his truck in the ride and at the end he was the person to draw the winning ticket to present the Harley Davidson to the winner. When people see the vets, they often get emotional and go up to them and say “thank you for serving out country”,” said Teixeira.

“If people can see these veterans and see where the money goes to, that is important. The riders really like to see the actual people they are giving to.”

Riders attending the event got a pre-event breakfast, T-shirt and a post-event concert. “Our biggest expense was the food and drinks,” said Teixeira. “The band played for free at the concert. The wait staff at Texas Roadhouse volunteered to serve food. But we had other costs such as T-shirt printing and the cost of printed materials. We did cut down on the cost of printed materials by offering materials on the internet so people could print them themselves and post them if needed.”

With an event of this size, it was vital to have dedicated volunteers passionate about the cause and the event.

“I would say that we had a committee of about twenty people working on putting this event together,” said Teixeira. “At the event itself we also had ten people volunteering at the registration table. Once the ride began there was not very much for volunteers to do.”

Along with the raffle for the Harley Davidson motorcycle, there was also a 50/50 raffle. Local restaurants donated gift certificates and a local band donated tickets to a show. These other prizes were combined in with the drawing for the 50/50 raffle so that there were more prizes to give out for this raffle.

This is the third year that this event has been done by Homes for Our Troops. The first year the event made $25,000 and the second year the event raised an impressive $35,000. Thanks to great weather and the raffle that featured a Harley-Davidson with customized accessories and a paint job with a Marines theme, the 2006 ride raised over $40,000.

“The first year it was suggested by Texas Roadhouse and it was so successful, we decided to make it an annual event. The Harley Davidson people are very patriotic as well. This event totally takes on a life of its own, we really have gotten the support of the right group of people,” said Teixeira. “A lot of motorcycle riders are vets themselves, so they often do rides like these all summer long.”

During the second Charity ride, the winner of the Harley Davidson motorcycle raffle did something very generous: she gave the bike back to Homes for Our Troops to sell to raise more money for their charity. “That bike has now been signed by NASCAR drivers and many injured vets. We are going to be auctioning it off on ebay.com sometime around Veterans Day.” said Teixeira.

To learn more about Homes for Our Troops, visit HomesForOurTroops.org

For a general guide that will help your group set up a raffle see How to Organize a Raffle Fundraiser. For a more extensive course check out Raffle Secrets.

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